CBS Sports Preseason College Basketball Top 100 And 1 Player Rankings for 2026-27
- Entering the 2026-27 college basketball season, Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., Florida small forward Thomas Haugh, and Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner headline the CBS Sports...
- claims the CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year honor after leading the nation in assists per game with 9.4 while averaging 15.2 points last season.
- Behind the top tier, high-impact transfers and elite freshmen populate the upper rankings.
Entering the 2026-27 college basketball season, Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., Florida small forward Thomas Haugh, and Vanderbilt point guard Tyler Tanner headline the CBS Sports Top 100 And 1 list after bypassing the NBA Draft to return to school, cbssports.com reported. The returning trio anchors an influx of veteran talent choosing college paydays over professional entry. Florida opens the season as the preseason No. 1 team with three players ranked in the top 20, while legal battles continue over fifth-year eligibility for dozens of athletes.
Top-Ranked Stars Bypass NBA Draft for College Paydays
Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr. claims the CBS Sports Preseason Player of the Year honor after leading the nation in assists per game with 9.4 while averaging 15.2 points last season. Florida’s Thomas Haugh turned down a projected top-20 selection in the 2026 NBA Draft to return to Florida, where he stands as the sport’s most well-compensated player.
OH MY GOODNESS 😱UCONN LEADSSSS UNBELIEVABLE #MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/IPX2JWiw0b
Behind the top tier, high-impact transfers and elite freshmen populate the upper rankings. Illinois sophomore power forward David Mirković enters the season as a projected first-round pick in the 2027 NBA Draft after averaging 13.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. Kansas freshman wing Tyran Stokes joins the Jayhawks as a top prospect, alongside Louisville junior center Flory Bidunga and Duke senior guard John Blackwell, who transferred from Wisconsin following a season where he averaged 19.1 points.
Legal Limbo Surrounds Fifth-Year Eligibility Claims
With the season less than two weeks away, the participation status of dozens of players suing for an additional year of eligibility remains entirely unresolved. scoutfly.cbsistatic.com reported that members of the high school recruiting class of 2022 are not grandfathered into the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model, forcing athletes to pursue legal action to secure a fifth year to play five seasons. Ten players caught in this fifth-year umbrella made the Top 100 list, with Miami guard Malik Reneau representing the highest-ranked among them.
Former Purdue star Trey Kaufman-Renn presents a separate eligibility case after signing with Kansas. As a 2021 high school graduate seeking a sixth year, Kaufman-Renn falls under the strict five-for-five framework despite redshirting his initial campaign in West Lafayette. Because his status remains murky, the CBS Sports panel omitted him entirely from the Top 100 rankings.
Conference Breakdowns and Preseason Roster Values
The Southeastern Conference dominates the national landscape with 30 players featured in the Top 100 rankings, followed by the Big Ten with 23 selections and the Big 12 with 17. The Atlantic Coast Conference places 15 players on the list, ahead of the Big East with 11 and the Pac-12 with four. Duke and Florida lead all individual programs with five selections each, while Illinois, Michigan, St. John’s, and Texas each account for four players.
Texas' David Punch shared something with me that not a lot of people know about… 👀 pic.twitter.com/dKRpdpOTQV
Health concerns also shadow several elite returners as the opening tipoff approaches. Texas Tech power and senior forward JT Toppin continues his recovery from a torn ACL in his right knee sustained on February 17, 2025, during a matchup against Arizona State. While Toppin averaged 21.8 points and 10.8 rebounds prior to the injury, cbssports.com stated that the exact timeline for the two-time All-American’s return to the Red Raiders’ lineup remains unclear.